"They approached the game like it was a pre-season friendly" - Gabby Agbonlahor slams Manchester United for dreadful performance against Atletico Madrid
Manchester United drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday.
The scoreline flattered the Red Devils as they were quite poor in the game. It was only due to a lack of finishing and two shots hitting the crossbar that Atletico couldn't secure a comprehensive win.
United failed to create many chances and were saved by a late equalizer from Anthony Elanga after Joao Felix had given Atletico an early lead.
Elanga's fine finish means we're level going into the second leg at Old Trafford 💪
#MUFC | #UCL
Speaking about United's performance, former Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor slammed Manchester United. He said on talkSPORT:
"Manchester United were dreadful. It was like they needed to be told that it was a Champions League game. It was like they approached the game like it was a pre-season friendly. Honestly I couldn’t believe it. They were dreadful, Bruno Fernandes giving the ball away, throwing his arms up, starting to moan as he always does, [Paul] Pogba kept giving the ball away."
He added:
"[Cristiano] Ronaldo came all the way into midfield just to get a few touches, he was non–existent in the game. [Marcus] Rashford was dreadful, [Jadon] Sancho, every player in that Manchester United team could have got a one out of ten, that’s how bad they all were.”
The second leg of their last-16 clash will be played at Old Trafford on March 15.
Manchester United have a tough March coming up
United currently occupy fourth position in the Premier League table. However, they are just a point above Arsenal, who have two games in hand. The likes of West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are also not far behind.
Hence, each match in the league becomes crucial from now until the end of the season. The Red Devils go up against Watford on Saturday at Old Trafford, following which they have a tough run of fixtures come up in March.
Manchester United's schedule until the end of March 😳 https://t.co/huWYNx2SnM
They start the month with league fixtures against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. They then face Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League before returning to the Premier League to face Liverpool.
This could be a make-or-break month for the Red Devils in their pursuit of a Champions League spot.